How to Practice Gratitude (Because It’s Food for the Soul)
Next week is Thanksgiving, and although 2020 has been a wild year, there’s still much to be grateful for.
Last year around this time I was writing about why we should have gratitude all year long, not just around the holidays. I stand by that, and in the past year I’ve learned a lot about the importance of gratitude.
This year I wanted to share some new tools that I’ve used and seen because practicing gratitude intentionally every day has changed my life, and I think if you tried it it could change yours, too.
What is Gratitude & Why is it Important?
To be grateful means, “showing or expressing thanks, especially to another person” (Cambridge Dictionary). Gratitude doesn’t always have to be directed at a person, though.
You can be grateful for events that happen to you, actions someone takes toward you, an inner quality, or even objects that just make your day better. For instance, when I think about what I’m grateful for in the morning, I often include things like the sunny day or my passion for words.
While being grateful might seem simple, it’s incredibly powerful. As you probably know, sometimes bad days or bad experiences can make gratitude a lot harder to think about. Sometimes we just want to wallow in whatever negative mindset we’re feeling.
And to an extent, that’s healthy. Having a full spectrum of emotion is a very human thing! But, just because we might be in the depths of despair, as one of my favorite characters always says, doesn’t necessarily mean there’s nothing positive or impactful happening. Unfortunately, most of life’s hardest lessons are learned the messy way and we only really appreciate them and become grateful for them later in life.
How Gratitude Can Change Your Life
I’ve always been someone who expressed gratitude, but it wasn’t until this year that I decided to make a daily practice of it. I initially thought it was something that was nice, but that maybe people who wrote about the positive effects were kind of exaggerating.
I mean, could one simple act of thinking about something really do that much?
The stunning answer is actually yes! (Obviously I had to learn this the hard way.)
Although there are probably a thousand reasons we should practice gratitude, I wanted to focus on 3 major ways that gratitude can drastically change your life. These are things most of us strive for, but many people get stuck on the “how” part.
Make you happier - Can you imagine waking up and starting your day thinking about the good parts of your life instead of social media or email or the fact that you don’t want to go to work (even if you work from home)? Thinking about what you’re grateful for makes you happier. I mean, it makes sense, right? Focusing on the good rather than the bad increases happiness about where you are right now. I’m not the only one who thinks that, either!
Make you more satisfied - If you are thinking about what you’re grateful for once or twice a day, it means that you are thinking about your life in the present moment. Sometimes it’s harder to find things to be grateful for than others, but it really makes you stop and think about the good. And when you can see the good in your life, you’re much more likely to be satisfied. This is especially important in a world that’s constantly encouraging the extra “grind” to be better, get more, and do all the things. Gratitude helps you appreciate the now.
Change your outlook on the future - When you can appreciate the now and think positively about it, you can change your future. More doors seem to be open (or at least within viewing distance), more possibilities seem to present themselves, and life just feels...better. It’s not necessarily even that your life feels awesome right now, or that you don’t want to achieve more than you have right now. When you can look at the current positives, though, you can imagine even bigger, more exciting possibilities for the future, and that’s priceless.
3 Ways to Practice Gratitude
It seems like a no-brainer that if you can be happier, more satisfied, and change your outlook on life - all HUGE promises - that you’d want to at least investigate the “how to” part, right?
Most of us are busy and the thought of another thing “to do” might be cringe-worthy. But, I promise that practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be time consuming. There are multiple ways to begin, so I’ll share a few and you can choose a place to start.
Morning & Evening Lists
I journal every morning, so I track my morning gratitude there. I simply write down 3-5 things in list format every day when I’ve done my writing and move on. This portion of my journaling literally takes 30 seconds or less.
In the evening, I use an app called Pixels to log my day, and I note 10 things I’m grateful for in my log there. If it seems like a lot - it is! But, it does make me consider the small joyful pieces of the day that would otherwise likely be overlooked.
Gratitude Log
If you don’t journal (I don’t blame you, it is a time commitment - maybe I could convince you to try that, too?), I’ve created a printable log for gratitude. You can print it out as many times as you want and it’s very low key.
There’s a place to put a date and a box for you to write what you’re grateful for each day. That’s it! Not a lot of other clutter, so you won’t be distracted. You could also do multiple notes for one date if you wanted, like I do, and it will be very neat and tidy when you look back at it.
Gratitude Journal
I’ve also created a gratitude journal if you’re wanting a little more inspiration to get you started on your intentional gratitude journey! It includes 5 weeks of entries with multiple inspirational quotes for each week. It’s undated so you can print it again when the month is over.
Next Steps
I don’t make promises often, in part because I don’t promise things I can’t follow through on. Gratitude, however, is one of the things that I’m willing to promise will change your life. When you’re intentional about it every day, you’ll be happier, more satisfied, and your outlook on life will be much more open and positive.
With that in mind, here’s what to do next:
Think about what you’re grateful for. Take a few moments right now to think about a few things that you’re grateful for in your life.
Figure out a way to document your gratitude. Check out the gratitude log and the gratitude journal and see if one of them appeals to you! If you’re already a journaler, you can start by making a space for it each day, too.
Make a plan to reflect on what you’re grateful for. Sometimes life is complicated and it’s just plain hard to figure out what the good pieces are. I get it! Especially with the pandemic going on and everything else that has happened this year. If you need some help, I can always work with you on figuring out what tracking method might be best for you, and how to start creating that habit. Click here to read more about working with me.
My challenge to you is to name something you’re grateful for right now, and then figure out a way to create a daily gratitude habit.
Do you practice gratitude? Have you used one of the tools I mentioned? Do you have a different tool that you use to track gratitude? I’d love to hear about your experiences and recommendations! Find me on social media or drop a comment below.
Let’s chat because you, my friend, are on your way to great writing.